Wangxian Prompt/Self-fill Dump

The Healer Pt 1

I am so sorry for being away for so long! I finally finished moving and can now actually sit and think of something that is not "Pack this here, that goes to storage-- Where the fuck is the Packing Tape!? Ah, no!! Do not drop that, that belonged to my late grandfather!!!"

I was being driven insane and when I did try to write, I literally sat staring at my laptop screen for an hour not do anything because I basically fell asleep with my eyes open...

So I am gonna try and pump out as many updates as I can in the coming days to make up for the lack of activity.

Also thank you for everyone who wished me a Happy Birthday back on August 27th, which was my 32nd birthday! I wish I could say I had a good day, but I was neck deep in moving that I honestly actually my birthday until my grandma made me one of my favorite Cuban dishes for dinner and gave me a shot glass of my late grandpa's favorite cognac in his honor!

If you guys forgot or did not know, don't worry about it! Because I know I did... So any way, enough rambling, please enjoy the new prompt/snippet!

Snippet:

For the first time in centuries, he opened golden eyes and after a good long stretch from his nearly 1000 years of sleep, he could not help but wonder why he was waking up? The Cloud Recess, once a Dragon haven had been attacked and utterly destroyed by the Wen Fire Demons almost 5000 years ago. Ever since he's been alone in what was once his home, surrounded by family, living peacefully and tranquilly. No one was spared, not even the hatchlings and the newly laid eggs. He had been on a mission for his brother, had been away when everyone was wiped out. His father's head on a great black pike at the entrance to the Cloud Recess had only been the first thing to greet him. the burnt earth and carnage behind it had been so much worse. After that he had found one of the Elders, just barely clinging to Life, he was named the New King, had been given the powers of the King and then the Elder died and as his first and only act as King, he locked the wards of his home, he spent years cleaning up the bodies, removing the ruins, nurturing the earth back to what it once was and then just... Just existed. At some points he would sleep for long periods of time, hoping to never wake again, but when he would, he could not be furious with his inability to die. Dragons are immortal until killed after all. Shaking his great head he slips out of the only building left standing in what was once a sprawling little city of close friends and family with the season visit of other dragons from around the world hoping to trade or find a mate or two. It was the temple that surrounded the Cold Pond. He had rebuilt it, reinforced it and carved his own living niche, complete with quarters for a family he will never have. A nursery that will never be used by little curious hatchlings nor a rookery to keep their eggs nice and warm when both parents have to be away for more than a few hours.

Why had he woken again? He is about to lay back down and try and sleep for eternity when suddenly it clicks why he is awake. Someone had entered the Recess! Unadulterated fury fills him and he moves quickly, serpentine in speed, movement and grace to where he sensed the intruder. His home was now a grand forest and valley hidden in the clouds, away from world, almost his personal bubble of heaven and hell. His white form is hidden in the thick rolling mists that cling to his home until about mid afternoon, which allows him to sneak close and with centuries of training, practice and generations of instincts kicking into high gear, his great form is deadly silent, nary a leaf or blade of grass is disturbed as he moves towards his target. There! In a clearing he sees a hunched over form. He slowly inhales, building a ball of steaming scalding hot water, enough to fully boil a full grown Hellhound alive within 5 seconds in the back of his throat. Their death will be so swift, they will not even realize it until it is far too late.

"Ok, I got what I need... better go leave these matcha cakes and veggie dumplings at the temple before I head back down..." the person, a young male by the sounds of it, says softly as they get up and the Dragon pauses, he sees a basket filled with flowers, roots and cuttings from several of the medicinal herbs and plants that he allowed to grow wild all over the Recess when he could not bring himself to get up daily to tend the once neat gardens. "A'Yu, a'Yang, come back!" He calls out and suddenly two young boys come bursting from the foliage from the other side of the clearing and the Dragon nearly gasps. "A'Yang" is clearly a Demon Child, but it this "a'Yu" is a dragon! And not any dragon, the long white tail he half carries as he toddles over, tells him that he is a Lan! But how-?!

"Coming Mama!" the little dragon chirps and the person chuckles softly.

"Xian-gege is not your mama, a'Yu!"

"He takes care of us, makes us food and tucks us into bed like a Mama, so he's Mama!" The little boys get into an argument, the young man sighs and lets them but when they get close to the Temple and graveyard of Name Plaques, he tells them to be quiet and respectful. The boys duck their heads, cowed by the gentle reprimand before they break off to clean off the plaques and the stones they were carved into while the young man moves into the temple. The dragon moves, watching wondering and then he sees the young man set out wooden bowls, clearly hand made and a bit shoddy in craftsmanship on the altar and then unpack food from the basket and carefully set them into the bowls. He set out candles and lit incense sticks and after a few minutes of prayer and the appropriate bows given, he stands and turns. That is when the Dragon can see they young man's face and he is blown away by the utter beauty of him. And that is when he realizes the young man is not human, but a Snake! The scales are so pale they blend into his skin seamlessly and if not for the sudden flash of gold through the silver of his eyes, he would think him fully human.

"Kids, come on." He calls as he leaves. "The air feels different today... Let's not disturb this little valley anymore. I have plenty to make medicine for at least a month." He calls and the two children hurry over to him. A'Yang struggling to take the basket from 'Xian-gege' as a'Yu manages to hold his hand while holding onto his long tail. "We can go see Wen Ning and Wen Qing on our way home. Maybe they have some tasty soup for us..."

The Dragon snarls and lunges out at the mention of Wens and the snake moves much too quick for anyone to cat and suddenly two serpentine titans are battling it out, but because he is a Dragon, he has claws and paws which he uses to pin the snake down, the threat of death keeping him from struggling too much. They glare at one another as the two children flee the valley, the basket forgotten as the older boy pulls the smaller along. When they cannot sense the children, the Snake seems to go limp in submission. And he will forever blame it on his lack of understanding others, that he foolishly lets up and the snake suddenly snaps up, bites him and the venom injected is not painful, but suddenly he is quiet sleepy again....

When the dragon wakes up again, he is still in his home, but it is the dead of night and only the birds and the small woodland creatures that lived here for centuries are the only things he can sense. He curses softly as he realizes he is in his humanoid form and stands up only for something to land at his feet. it is pouch full of medicine and bandages with a small note: Sorry, hope the medicine and bandages will make up for me cheating...